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Clearing it out: a meditation
Our son visits on Father’s Day, pokes around in the refrigerator, and pulls out a bottle of BBQ sauce with an expiration date of 2002. He holds the bottle up in front of me and points to the offending...
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Getting Through
I use getting through as a life strategy. I get through one thing, and then another, and then another. Why do we speak of life events as something we need to get through? I got through the holidays....
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May I have a word?
A trendy bar in San Francisco’s Mission District makes a space for art Sis asked me about my word for 2015. Each year we choose a word to focus on, one that embodies a concept we wish to understand...
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The Family Tree
Charting a family tree provides a record for future generations, but sketching the leafy branches in story form is far more revealing. At first glance, your tree may appear to be a uniform sample of...
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On the road again
When we returned from Arizona to Pine Mountain Lake I promised I would stay put for at least six months, but in May I’m on the road again (not for long). Judith Gregg, head librarian at the Los Altos...
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Got the Grumbles?
Nothing gives me the grumbles like the feeling that my time is not my own. The Wall Street Journal reviewed a book that hit a nerve. The World Beyond Your Head: On becoming an Individual in an Age of...
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A summer writers conference special
On sale $0.99 August 10 – 17 What camp is to kids, a summer writers conference is to a writer. My daughter and I have polished our manuscripts and will meet up in Portland to attend the Oregon...
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Shocking! Donald Trump on a Broca Binge
Thinking about shocking Broca, a marketing ploy to break through the brain function that filters out the predictable and boring, brings to mind Donald Trump.The Donald trumps everyone in shocking...
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Wisdom Bubbles
The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook. Proverbs 18:4. We can drown in our words, but if we wait at the edge of what troubles or intrigues us, wisdom...
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Writers approach the well
During conference season, we writers approach the well of inspiration to draw ideas and encouragement. Sometimes we drag home with what feels like bricks in our roller bags, discouraging loads of “you...
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The Writing Roller Coaster
The Great Wheel, Seattle My friend Von sent me a copy of the Afterword to Terri Blackstock‘s book Double Minds that describes the roller coaster writing life. The timing was good. I was down about last...
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Step Up Your Game
When is it time to step up your game? I’ve been in the writing game for about four years now. I’m getting sour on on clicking links and signing up for seminars that tell me what I already know. That’s...
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Retrench and Redeem: a counterculture exercise
Kilaue Point National Wildlife Refuge, Kauai Retrench and redeem are my watchwords for 2016. In the past I’ve made resolutions to accomplish change, fashioned mantras to guide my daily spiritual...
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Discipline: The Struggle to Put Pen to Paper
Discipline your inner writer: A book list A friend of mine has a lot to say but struggles to put pen to paper. Writing is a discipline in the deepest sense of the word. The Free Dictionary defines...
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Breathe: Forgiveness
The breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 33:4 Forgiveness is popping up everywhere as a tonic for what ails us. The healing power of forgiveness is touted in newspaper headlines and on websites....
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Finding your best self: I just dropped in…
Seeking my best self, “I Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In).” Remember that ditty? I had a flashback to the Sixties when writer and educator David Dark challenged those who, in...
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Joy for the Journey: A bit of serendipity
Joy is a moment Happiness is a state of being, but joy is a moment. We can work ourselves into a happy place, but joy is an unsolicited moment of grace, independent of the place we find ourselves,...
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The Story God Tells: A Lenten Observation
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well, ca. 1420, gold leaf, painting, etching on glass My brain started buzzing when T.M. McNally used the Trinity as an illustration for story structure in a...
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The value of your passion project
What is the value of your passion project? Endeavors you pour heart and soul into; tasks that eat up your time; a vocation that drains your physical and mental energy and robs your pocketbook; why do...
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Wildfire and Other Distractions
The Detwiler wildfire has driven people in our neighboring communities from their homes, and it may come for us. Or not. First, let’s acknowledge that losing your home and livelihood (these are ranch...
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